Here is the step-by-step guide on how to reset forgotten passwords for both local administrator and domain administrator on Windows Server 2008. It can also unlock your locked or disabled user account.

1. HOW TO RESET FORGOTTEN ADMIN
PASSWORD ON WINDOWS SERVER 2008?

2. PROBLEMS:
 Lost or forgot the administrator password on
a rarely used server?
 Former employees leave your company
without giving you the password?
 Locked out of a local or domain administrator
account on Windows Server 2008?
http://www.top-password.com

3. SOLUTION:
Being in my line of work, I make use of
dozens of test servers and virtual machines
and from time to time I can forget what the
administrator password is. Whatever the
reason is you have forgotten the
administrator password on Windows Server
2008 (R2), it’s a breeze to reset Windows
Server 2008 password so I though I would
share.
http://www.top-password.com

4. There are many tricks and tools that could be used
to crack Windows password. To save time, I would
use PCUnlocker to simply reset the password.
PCUnlocker is a recovery CD that could be used to
reset forgotten passwords for both local
administrator and domain administrator on
Windows Server 2008. It can also unlock your
locked or disabled user account. Let’s see how it
works.
http://www.top-password.com

5. STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE:
Step 1:
Before getting started, you need to make a
PCUnlocker Live CD (or USB drive) using another
PC. Download the ISO image of PCUnlocker and
then burn it to a CD with the freeware ISO2Disc.
To reset the password of a Windows 2008 virtual
machine, you can skip this step and set your
virtual machine to boot directly from PCUnlocker
ISO image.
http://www.top-password.com

6. Step 2:
Shut down your locked machine that is running
Windows Server 2008. Now you need to get it to
boot from the CD you just created.
Make sure your boot order is setup properly in the
BIOS, so that the machine will attempt to boot
from CD/DVD first, before the hard drive.
http://www.top-password.com

7. Step 3:
After booting from the CD, you’ll see the
PCUnlocker program when the booting procedure
is complete. The program provides you two
recovery option:
 Reset Local Admin/User Password
 Reset Active Directory Password
The first option allows you to remove local
administrator password and DSRM password,
while the second option lets you reset lost domain
admin / user passwords on domain controller.
http://www.top-password.com

8. For example, if you need to reset domain admin
password, click on the “Reset Active Directory
Password” option. The program will show you a
list of domain user accounts that are stored in
Active Directory database (ntds.dit).
Choose the administrator account and click on
“Reset Password” button. The program will
unlock/enable the account and assign a new
password to your domain administrator account.
That is because the password policy doesn’t accept
a blank password.
http://www.top-password.com

9. After resetting your password, reboot the machine
and remove the CD, you can then log on Windows
Server 2008 and regain access to all data and files
on your computer. That’s it! Enjoy!
http://www.top-password.com